Dr. Samson is not a part of a group practice and he is a wonderful vet who knows a lot about guinea pigs. He uses Sevofluorane gas because he feels it's safer than Isofluorane. Sevo is much more expensive so his fees for surgery are high. I highly recommend him if you can afford it. Contributed by: GP Lover 8/5/2005, 10:14 amWebsite verified: March 13, 2016

Everytime I go to his office, there are lots of small animals - ferrets, rabbits, guinea pigs, mice, rats, birds and dogs. I've mostly seen rabits, ferrets and guinea pigs in his office. A woman I work with has brought all her small animals and has had many procedures done with good results including removing an ovarian cyst the size of a golf ball from her guinea pig. My piggies just had ovarian cysts removed by him and are doing well. He is excellent with small animals.
His office also sells Oxbow products.Contributed by: Tricia - 5/10/2004, 12:03 am

I brought my guinea pig here for a torn nail and part of his toe. He is fabulous with the animals. He knows exactly what to do. My only complaint is he is a little expensive... But, he knew every option available and explained it extensively. Even the vet tech's knew exactly what was going to be done and helped me with any questions and explained them extensively. I found out that there were some people on this forum that use him also. He is the best exotics vet I have found in the area. Contributed by: Alyssa - 2/23/2006 by e-mail

These gentlemen (and there is now a third Vet who is also VERY good but I can't remember his name) have been WONDERFUL for my guinea pigs. They have an after hours number that you call and speak directly to the vet. They carry Oxbow Products, and educated me on how to take care of my guinea pig. When my Cuddles had an abcess, they were very gentle with him, and after it was lanced and drained, they gave me 2 antibiotics to make sure it would't come back and a painkiller to ease his suffering.Contributed by: Ange1icflowers - 6/21/2004, 3:41 pm

Another fine vet in this practice. I take all of my girls to Dr. Duggan. Henry went through months of agony: a pyometra surgery for no reason by another vet, crying while peeing, blood in her urine, weight loss, and she stopped eating on her own for months. Dr. Duggan was with me the entire time doing tests and researching new options to figure out what was wrong. Eventually she decided a bladder biopsy would be only thing left to do. The biopsy showed E. Coli. After a long course of Bactrim (and about five months of torture for poor Henry), Henry had made a huge turn around - weight gain, eating on her own, rarely a cry.

She also diagnosed Piggie Crocket with Coccidia after my previous vet would not listen and didn't try other avenues - nothing was helping. Dr. Duggan pointed out that you need more than one fecal. She kept Piggie over night, ran fecal after fecal and finally found the Coccidia.

I will never go to anyone other than Dr. Duggan. Not only does she know what she's doing, but she is extremely caring. She goes above and beyond, and is really in it for the wellbeing of the animal. She listens, takes suggestions, and does research. Highly recommended. Contributed by: somechick - 1/18/2008, 9:31 pm

Website verified: March 13, 2016; however, Dr. Lori Duggan is not listed as Staff on the website.

He's passable, treats all kinds of animals and seems to know what he's doing. I trust him, though I trust the medical advice here more. There usualy isn't a problem, though, since his advice has always matched except when he thought that Dave 'couldn't' have a heart issue because of his age.Contributed by: angelshelper81 - 4/16/2004, 11:29 amWebsite verified: March 13, 2016

Personal experience: Not only is Dr. Keefe a wonderful vet in general, but he is also experienced and knowledgeable with guinea pigs. At my first visit with him, shortly after I got my boys (brought in for a well visit) he quizzed me about their cage, bedding, diet, etc. This little "pop quiz" increased the conficence I already had in Dr. Keefe (he treated past pets). Also, very kind, and always takes his time with patients/clients to answer all questions.Contributed by: shells216 - 10/17/2004, 4:26 pmWebsite verified: March 13, 2016

Reasonable rates and they do emergency service here. A vet is on call after hours and will phone you to discuss your options in case of an emergency. Contributed by: GP Lover 8/5/2005, 10:14 amWebsite verified: March 13, 2016

[We] have used [this veterinarian] for several years for our pigs. The clinic has been wonderful and we had no idea of the degree of diagnostics and treatments that are available for pigs until we came here.

Procedures they have performed for us:
1. Spay due to cyctic ovaries
2. castration
3. ultrasound
4. dental abscess treatment using beads with antibiotics in them
5. dermatology treatments
6. used an endoscope to retreive a foreign body from the stomach. Cool!

We discovered Peanut - just over 3 yrs old - had malocclusion when we returned from our 1 wk vacation in July. Over the past 2 months, she has seen about 6 different vets. We went to the Animal Medical Center in NYC - they trimmed her front molars too short and left a bottom tooth loose, but did cut her back teeth. The following week, we had the broken tooth removed and filed, because it was in the way of her progress. Beginning of August,we went to Morris County Animal Hospital - the first visit, they took xrays and trimmed her front and back teeth, but her front teeth were not cut short enough. We went for periodic trimmings of her front teeth, but over the past 2 weeks, she started drooling alot and needed more attention again. Last Thursday 9/8, we took her back to Morris County Animal Hospital - a different doctor saw her, put her under, and she stopped breathing - they could not/did not want to proceed that day. On Friday, 9/9, we took her to S.Plainfield Animal Hospital - our local animal hospital (Newton) referred us to Dr. Linick, but he does not work Fridays. Today, Peanut went for her follow-up with him. Over the past week, she lost over 3 oz. - the largest drop yet (she's on CC) and was a high-risk patient. About 1 hr ago, turns out she survived the operation, although there were some complications with the anesthesia. I did not think she would pull through today, but Dr. Linick assured me that he would treat her as his own. I'm very impressed with him, his staff, and the beautiful facility - even though it's almost a 2 hr drive each way. He specializes in small animals. I highly recommend him - after 2 months of searching, we've found a winner!! Contributed by: piggiemom - 9/15/2005, 3:24 pmWebsite verified: March 13, 2016

They just opened an Avian and Exotics department. I went to a lecture and got a tour of the building. The have hired the three exotic doctors mentioned above and have purchased all the medical/surgical equipment for exotics. They say the new exotics vets have been doing training with the emergecy vets to better care for exotics. There is always an exotics vet oncall - the emergency vets can contact the exotics vet with questions/advice and if needed the oncall exotics vet will come in.
I only went to the lecture - I have not brought my guinea pigs in so I cannot comment on the care. Dr. Strunk was very nice but be warned: she's developed an allergy to guinea pigs and wears a mask and gloves when treating them. From their bios it looks like maybe Dr. Brown as done more research on guinea pigs. You can access their bios on the web site: http://www.rbvh.net/Contributed by: Tricia - 11/18/2005, 6:39 pmWebsite verified: March 13, 2016

Dr. Mock is a wonderful, experienced compassionate vet. She has lots of experience with guinea pigs and even has her own. The downside is the $57 office visit but if you can afford it I recommend her as well. This is a 6 vet group practice but I only have experience with Dr. Mock.Contributed by: GP Lover 8/5/2005, 10:14 amWebsite verified: March 13, 2016